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Johannesburg - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's budget means South Africans will not have a say in putting their money to more effective use, trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday.

"Gordhan should rather have curtailed public debt, and should have announced actual cuts in general tax," said Solidarity's senior economic researcher Piet le Roux.

"To achieve real, sustainable growth in the economy it is important that the treasury levies as little as possible, rather than as much as possible, taxes."

Le Roux said the announcement of a nominal relief in personal income tax did not constitute real relief.

"It merely has the appearance of relief," he said.

Despite expanded income tax brackets a person who earned R160 000 during the past tax year and who receives a six percent increase this year, will have to sacrifice a bigger percentage to income tax this year than the year before, explained Le Roux.

Solidarity was also disappointed that its call for a tax rebate on security expenses was not on the budget.

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